The new Boeing 777-900 is considered to be the prototype of the new generation of wide-body aircraft.

It only needs two instead of four engines to cope with distances and weights similar to those of the previous four-engine aviation giants, the Boeing 747 and Airbus A380.

At 76.7 meters, the twin-engine aircraft is the longest aircraft in civil aviation and has space for up to 400 passengers, but is 40 percent less than the CO2 emissions of a Boeing 747-400 and is said to be a good 50 percent quieter than this early one Jumbo.

Jochen Remmert

Airport editor and correspondent Rhein-Main-Süd.

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During the short visit of the first aircraft on Friday in Frankfurt, which was still transporting innumerable test equipment and trim tanks inside instead of passengers, Lufthansa CEO Carsten Spohr emphasized that Lufthansa was of particular importance for this aircraft at the start of the new phase of the attaches importance to sustainable aviation.

It is still about offering passengers the highest quality and working profitably, but it is also about pursuing these goals with responsibility for the preservation of the planet.

The new Boeing is a big step forward in this direction.

Lufthansa has so far placed firm orders for 20 of the new aircraft. According to a spokesman, it is certain that the first seven of the aircraft, which is largely made of composite materials, will be stationed at the largest German airport. Spohr left it open whether the entire fleet will have its home airport here. However, he emphasized that the now orphaned A380 shipyard in Frankfurt - Lufthansa has now completely retired the Airbus double-decker - is ideal for the beautiful new aircraft.

A special feature of the 777-900 are the retractable wing tips, which enable the aircraft to dock at building positions at all airports despite the extended wingspan of almost 72 meters.

Spohr took the opportunity of the short visit from Stan Deal, the head of the commercial aircraft division of the American aircraft manufacturer Boeing, to wrest the promise to deliver the first 777-900 to Lufthansa in such a way that it can start service from Frankfurt in 2023.

The background to this is that the development of the aircraft with its two specially newly designed engines with an enormous diameter of 4.40 meters took more time than originally